{"id":36544,"date":"2026-05-14T19:06:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T19:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/36544\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T19:06:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T19:06:27","slug":"uk-eurovision-entry-look-mum-no-computer-is-unfazed-by-british-pessimism-im-used-to-being-the-underdog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/36544\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Eurovision entry Look Mum No Computer is unfazed by British pessimism: \u2018I\u2019m used to being the underdog\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The UK\u2019s Eurovision<\/a> entry, Look Mum No Computer<\/a>, knows that the odds are, quite literally, stacked against him when he competes in this year\u2019s final. <\/p>\n

The bookies have him down at 80\/1 to win, but the musician and YouTuber born Sam Battle <\/a>has said he\u2019s \u201chappy to be an underdog\u201d in the annual song contest, as he responds to calls to boycott the event<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Battle, 37, is representing the UK in Vienna, Austria, with his song \u201cEins, Zwei, Drei\u201d, amid controversy surrounding the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decision to allow Israel to compete.<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Independent this week, Battle seemed acutely aware of the challenge he faces, but wasn\u2019t bothered by predictions that he might fare poorly. <\/p>\n

\"LookLook Mum No Computer, real name Sam Battle, walks on the turquoise carpet during the official start of the Eurovision Song Contest week (AP)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 100 per cent on the job \u2013 I\u2019m focusing on it completely,\u201d he said, speaking from a hotel room in Vienna. \u201cI\u2019m practising every day, exercising so I\u2019ve got the stamina\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m used to being an underdog,\u201d he continued. \u201cThere\u2019s all different ways of looking at it, but it\u2019s not bothering me, because nobody\u2019s actually seen the full [performance]. There\u2019s a lot more going on than meets the eye \u2013 I\u2019m hoping it\u2019s going to surprise people.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has the unenviable task of trying to bring the UK its first win since 1997, when Katrina and the Waves triumphed with their song \u201cLove Shine a Light\u201d. <\/p>\n

Since then, the nation has rarely come close to winning \u2013 often coming in last or close to last place \u2013 with the exception of Sam Ryder in 2022, who came in second with his song \u201cSpace Man\u201d. Otherwise, the UK\u2019s glory days are a distant memory.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Ryder, who came in second place at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, is the most successful UK entry in recent memory (Getty)<\/p>\n

The reactions to \u201cEins, Zwei, Drei\u201d \u2013 a zany electronic-pop song that makes heavy use of synths \u2013 have also been decidedly mixed. In a three-star review for The Independent<\/a>, critic Adam White called the track \u201cvery English in a way that\u2019s both horrendously embarrassing and oddly charming\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSonically speaking, \u2018Eins, Zwei, Drei\u2019 has the feel of the distant past, like a Kaiser Chiefs album track or something by The Ting Tings,\u201d he said. \u201cWhich is all to say that this is a very heterosexual Eurovision entry, devoid of camp or glitz or whatever Olly Alexander was doing a few years ago.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LookLook Mum No Computer during rehearsals for Eurovision 2026 (PA)<\/p>\n

Battle is guaranteed a spot in the final due to the UK\u2019s position as one of the \u201cBig Four\u201d countries that make the largest financial contributions to Eurovision, along with Italy, Germany and France. However, he will still get to perform live during the second semi-final on Thursday (14 May).<\/p>\n

His staging is arguably the most eccentric of any Eurovision act this year. <\/p>\n

The vision of creative director Fredrik Rydman \u2013 who created the stage for Nemo\u2019s winning performance of \u201cThe Code\u201d for Switzerland in 2024 \u2013 features office-themed props built by Battle himself, custom synths\u2026 and dancers in boiler suits with furry computers for heads.<\/p>\n

Asked about the idea that any UK entry for Eurovision is something of a poisoned chalice, given our recent run of failures, Battle said he went through a \u201clong thought process\u201d before putting himself up for the task.<\/p>\n

\u201cEurovision has been going for 70 years,\u201d he said, \u201c[it was started] to bring a bit more happiness within Europe postwar\u2026 It\u2019s just about keeping it going and keeping it on the straight and narrow. The most important thing for me is to be involved.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\u2018The\u2018The mood may be completely different, and I have no idea what to expect\u2019 (PA)<\/p>\n

Last month, over a thousand artists signed an open letter calling for a Eurovision boycott <\/a>over Israel\u2019s inclusion, including Paul Weller, Brian Eno, Massive Attack and Paloma Faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs musicians and cultural workers, many living within the reaches of the [EBU], we reject Eurovision being used to whitewash and normalise Israel\u2019s genocide, siege and brutal military occupation against Palestinians,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n

Five countries \u2013 Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands \u2013 also chose to boycott the event this year<\/a> over Israel\u2019s inclusion.<\/p>\n

Battle responded to the calls for a boycott by stating that it was the BBC\u2019s decision, as the UK broadcaster, to take part in Eurovision each year, and that he was going \u201cas the artist \u2026 being creative and focusing on the music \u2013 and trying to focus on what it\u2019s about, which is keeping Europe together, keeping Europe happy\u201d.<\/p>\n

The main thing I want to take away from this is just knowing I tried my hardest<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople need to bloomin\u2019 smile once in a while, it\u2019s about creativity and music,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tension might happen [at the contest], there might be a change of mood \u2013 that\u2019s understandable as it gets past the semi-finals,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe mood may be completely different, and I have no idea what to expect. I\u2019m going to hunker down, focus on the job at hand and try my hardest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe singer, with one of his office-themed props built by Battle himself (Getty)<\/p>\n

He said his staging was inspired by what he described as a cultural feeling in Britain of \u201cwhatever you\u2019ve got, you make the most of it\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the person in their shed in the middle of England\u2026 that mindset has fuelled inventions not just for the UK, but for the world,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to maintain that kind of aspect of Britishness: it might not be perfect, but we just got to, you know, keep calm and carry on, basically.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing I want to take away from this is just knowing I tried my hardest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Look Mum No Computer perform in the Eurovision semi-final on Thursday 14 May, from 8pm on BBC One, and in the grand final on Saturday 16 May from 8pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36545,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6855,6856,5,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-36544","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-bestof","9":"tag-topix","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116574498590172795","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}